Breaking the Ice
by Arashi Maxwell
Summary: Just a drabble about how Bobby found out he had his powers one day while sledding with his friends.


So, I thought about this walking in the snow this morning. It's just a thought about how Bobby found out about his powers. I'm not pretending it's the real one or anything, but I hope you like it. I had fun writing it, at least.

DISCLAIMER: Not mine.

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It was the first week of January, the day cold and crisp. Enough snow had fallen the night before to cause the schools to shut all over. Needless to say, this made the students excited, and many had found the first outdoors game that they could to play. For Bobby Drake and his friends, it had been sledding on the hill behind the high school.

It had been a cold sled, but also a fun one. Now he was standing beside Emma Johnson, a friend of his since sixth grade, waiting for the others to make a last run down the hill. She was pretty, average-height and dark-haired, all of it hidden beneath her layers of winter clothing. Even her face was covered, the blue scarf pulled over the bridge of her nose and the hat pulled down to her eyebrows so that only her eyes peeked out.

"Cold?" Bobby laughed as his friend shivered violently. She scowled back at him; he was dressed as warmly as could be suspected, but seemed unbothered by the constant nip of the wind. Blond hair poked out from under the back of his hat and his blue eyes danced with his tease.

"No, of course not. I love losing the feeling in my face."

"Your face hurts?"

"No, it doesn't feel like _anything_." She turned and glared at him, "Don't you dare."

He laughed again and glanced up the hill. Two boys – affectionately known as "The Twins" – were adjusting an old-fashioned wooden sled, apparently arguing over the finer points of positioning. Emma sniffed and shook her head, muttering under her breath about ditching them for the cocoa. Even as she spoke, the two seemed to come to an agreement, and both boys backed away, one – Adam – going nearly twice the distance of the other - Aaron. Adam jogged his two or three feet and jumped onto the sled, starting it sliding toward the crest of the hill. Just as it reached the top, Aaron sprinted forward and leapt, hitting the sled and sending it careening down the slope.

"_Oh_! This is a _bad_ idea!" Emma was smiling, despite her words. The Twins whooped as the sled reached the bottom and continued to speed over the flat ground. Bobby and Emma cheered, both twins twisting to wave back at them. The sled didn't seem to be slowing much.

Neither the Twins nor the two spectators paid much attention to the lake. It was a medium sized body of water, nowhere more than ten feet deep, and used for canoeing and sailing in Senior Rec. It was also placed right in the path of the Twins. The sled dipped as it went down the bank, nearly bouncing Aaron off, and then skidded across the slick ice. Emma gasped, and then laughed when the Twins continued to celebrate.

Bobby, however, couldn't shake his sudden apprehension. Something felt wrong, a feeling in the pit of his stomach. He started jogging forward, not really realizing he was moving until Emma called after him, and then he broke into a run. The feeling had become a sudden certainty – the ice was not thick enough.

The sled had finally slowed, almost at the center of the lake, and Bobby could hear the twins laughing. He slid down the bank and onto the ice – he didn't slide like he had expected. Adam stood up on the sled, his fists thrust into the air. And then the ice began to crack. Adam wobbled, his knees bending reflexively, and Aaron jumped off the sled. The ice cracked worse, and Bobby began to edge out on the ice, still expecting his feet to slip. Aaron began to move away from the sled, his feet sliding so bad that he was barely going anywhere. He turned, yelling at Adam to jump, and fell heavily.

"Don't ju-!" Bobby's call was too late; the older twin had already pushed off. The ice crumpled, the freezing water swallowing the sled, and Adam dropped. His legs hit the edge of the hole and he twisted, hands scrabbling hopelessly on the ice as he slid into the water. Bobby threw himself onto his stomach and began to slide the last dozen feet to the hole, his eyes locked on Adam.

"Adam!" Aaron had taken a step back, tendrils of cracks darting under his feet. He paused, and then took another step that made the ice thunder.

"Get back, Aaron!" The brunet obliged, edging back to the sound of more thunder. Bobby began to feel something strange. He could feel every bit of ice beneath him, could tell how turning this piece would make the lake swallow itself, or how turning that piece would hold him up while he moved. He could tell which pieces had come apart when the Adam stood on the sled. And which parts were coming apart beneath under Adam now. He reached out across the ice toward his friend, willing the ice not to collapse, willing them to hold together. And then he could feel them moving, see the ice thickening and turning white between him and the brunet.

"…Help!" Adam slipped again, his head and shoulders the only thing remaining above the ice, and Bobby pushed onto his knees, sliding forward. The ice would hold, he knew, and he reached out. His hand was just short of Adam's, but the other boy panicked and swung for the offered hand.

"No!" This time, Bobby could see the ice in the air. Little crystals gathered, flowing from his hand to Adam's wrist, where they gathered and solidified, holding wrist to lake. The brunet's panic grew, and he tugged on the ice, flaking off pieces. Bobby had to work quickly. He slid forward again, and took hold of Adam's wrist, helping him break the ice he had just ma-no, that had somehow formed there. It broke and he began to pull the other boy onto the ice.

"Climb, Adam!" He pulled and Adam obeyed, though his limbs didn't seem to work quiet as well as they used to. Finally, they both rolled onto the ice and lay breathing heavily.

"B-B-Bobby?" The blond turned to his friend and the brunet was staring at him, "W-what ha-hap-pened?"

"I don't know." He pushed himself up on his hands and knees, and then grabbed Adam's arm. "Can you crawl?"

"…Sure…" He rolled onto his stomach and began to pull himself alongside Bobby. As soon as they were close enough to the shore, Aaron crawled on the ice and grabbed for Adam's arm. Bobby shifted around and helped the twin pull his brother to shore.

"Is he okay?" Emma hovered over them, and Bobby nodded.

"Yeah, but he needs to get changed." Bobby jerked his scarf off, the knitted wool making him sweat. The other two nodded and Emma ran and got the traditional, plastic sled she had used earlier. Adam mumbled complaints, but eventually climbed into the sled. Aaron and Bobby took hold of the string at the front and pulled it down the road, Emma walking beside Adam.

"I'm really tired…is that bad?" Adam's voice was slurred and he seemed to be concentrating on making the sentence come out in the right order.

"Here." Bobby stopped and pulled his hat, and then jacket off. "Swap me."

"Bobby, you can't do that! What if-?"

"No, really. I'm too hot, anyway." He pushed the clothes at his friend and Adam fumbled out of his own wet ones, passing them to Bobby. Emma still complained, but the boys were no longer listening to her as they helped bundle Adam up. "Come on, we should hurry."

"Bobby! You'll freeze to death!" Emma grabbed her friend's arm, but he pushed her gently aside and continued to help Aaron drag his brother home. The brunet sat huddled in the plastic tray, rubbing at his sides slowly, blinking more and more lethargically.

"Bobby, what happened to the ice?" Adam spoke over Emma, frowning slightly. "How'd it move like that?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Adam, I told you that." Bobby scowled, still trying to keep his mind on something else. But Adam refused to let him.

"The ice grabbed my wrist. It came from your hand."

"What's he talking about?" Aaron puffed, glancing sideways. Bobby just shrugged and shook his head, keeping his eyes straight forward. It was a lie' he knew what had happened. He had seen the ice move from his hand to Adam's wrist. He had _felt_ it move. He could _still_ feel the ice around him, the little crystals in the snow that was drifting past his face, the way it piled on the side of the road as they walked past. _No_! He shook his head, trying to force the feeling away. The snow in front of him swirled out, away from him. …It must have been his breath. That's all.

They got Adam home, where his mother panicked and called the police. After that, Emma and Bobby were ushered out of the house, an ambulance sped up to the curb, and Adam was packed away. There was nothing left after that but to go home and wait. Bobby made an excuse to Emma and ran home, slipping through the back door so no one would notice he didn't have his coat. He needn't have worried, she was out at the store and Ronnie was in the living room playing a video game. The thirteen year old called out to Bobby, who made an excuse and ran up the stairs to his room. He would go to sleep, and when he woke up in the morning…the feeling would be gone. He was sure of it.

Or, at least, he kept telling himself he was.


End file.
